Building my Cyclocross dream.

Wednesday, 9 May 2012

i know its been a while since i last posted, but i'm sad to say, at the moment, there is nothing to post!
I'm still quite annoyed at the moment that the tubes haven't come in yet, but i guess its just a wait....

while i've been waiting, i've been thinking of what i should paint my bike it.
the colour selection is very difficult since i want to make this bike a one of a kind that is created and designed by me.

Friday, 6 April 2012

I know
its been a while since I’ve last posted, but I have loads of homework and other
commitments (cycling)

Last
week I managed to order in the specific tubing for the bike from USA. The
tubing that I had ordered is from the brand ‘True Temper’ I chose this brand
since it is used by ‘English Cycles’ on my favorite custom frame builders

The tubing takes around 10 days to be
delivered, so hopefully it will be in any day and I will be able to get
started!

Selecting the tubing was extremely difficult
since you had to find the right lengths since the tubes have to be mitred and
welded which will+- some length so keeping in mind, I selected the tubes
alongside my boss, Vince; after a long search, we found the tubes we were
looking for that complied with the ISP requirement. The cost of the tubing was
around $300 dollars excluding shipping from America. Since it is a steel frame,
the weight will be quite high compared to a traditional carbon frame, but due
to the material, it should prove to act as a more ‘lively’ compared to carbon.

As soon as the tubes come in I will
post some photos, but until then, more waiting!

Thursday, 8 March 2012

I’m about to write about the second step of creating a
bicycle frame - the geometry.

Then first approaching this task, I thought it would
be rather simple; type a couple of numbers into the tool bar and POOF! A new
frame is created. But no, it is not a simple as that. The process is rather
difficult, since when you are designing a frame, the measurements need to be to
the closest millimetre.

Since I’m a beginner to frame building, I tried copying a well known
frame called the Ridley X-fire, and adding a couple of personal adjustments to
the frame to make it suit my liking. I used the program bikecad.ca, which is
used by many large-scale bicycle companies when they are designing frames.
After copying in the number and adjusting some measurements, I printed off the
details and save the image on my computer.

After finishing creating my ‘sketch’ on the computer, I uploaded it on a
bike forum called weightweenies.starbike.com/ to gain some impute from some
professional bike companies and professional cyclists. After being told my
calculations were completely incorrect, I took the designs back to the drawing
board.

Finally, after my 4th draft, my ‘sketch’ was completed! Next
stage is the selection of tubing, preparation then finally the construction and
welding of the frame.

Sunday, 26 February 2012

Building
a bike is no easy challenge; each step taken to build the bike is more time
consuming than the next.

The first
step is to find a design of a bike that you want to “mimic.”

I immediately
turned to my favorite bike brands to find some pictures and some geometry
charts.

There
were three models of bikes that grabbed my attention;

The Parlee

The Moots

The Baum

It will take a few hours to create some samples of geometry for the bike, which are made with a special program called bikecad.ca/ the bike will be designed using this program, then the blueprint will be printed off and handed to my Boss/Frame-builder to discuss and to start building the bike.

At
the beginning of the year, I faced the tough challenge of starting a completely
different lifestyle, the tough leap of moving schools to the Mount Scopus
Memorial College. When I started my first day, I was confronted by my Homeroom
teacher (mech) about starting my personal project and if there was anything
specific that I would like to do before the two term deadline.

Knowing
what my friends were trying to do for their projects; writing cookbooks, making daily planners,
online fantasy football teams, I wanted to give myself a ‘proper challenge’
which will keep me enthused for the whole two terms. Thinking deeply for about
two whole days, I came to the conclusion that I would want to build my own custom
racing bike frame, a frame that I could actually use to ride on, not just hang
up upon the wall for decooration.

Ever
since I’ve started riding, I’ve always wanted to manufacture and build my own
personal bike, just for me; something that I can ride and just enjoy. The idea
of building a bike was inspired by many custom bike brands such as, Baum,
Parlee, Moots and most of all, my lovely boss, Vince.

When
thinking about what type of bike to build, I thought to myself, what could I
build? Inspired by one of my co-workers and ex coach, I decided that I would
want to build a cyclocross racer.

Cyclocross
is a type of cycling that is very popular in Europe and in the United States. Although
cyclocross is very uncommon in Australia, it is slowly growing with the immergence
of small races all around the nation.

The
differences between a road bike and a cyclocross bike confuse many people. The main
differences between the two is that a cyclocross bike is a bike that can be
ridden on the road, as well as riding on dirt tracks due to the large clearances
and thicker, knobbier tires.

Completing this humongous feat will not
only be extremely difficult, but it will also require a whole lot of concentration
and hours to complete.

my aims for the bike and the project are:
frame under 1900g.
bike under 10kilograms.
finish by due date.
race on it in a competitive event.